The Unanticipated Prey
by JosieSwan
Summary: In 1875, Jasper Whitlock is building a newborn army for Maria when he comes across Carlisle Cullen, a man who will challenge everything he thinks he knows. AU, Slash, M for sexual situations. Written for the Alternate Shipper Challenge


"**The Alternate-Shipper Challenge"**

Title: The Unanticipated Prey

Pen name: JosieSwan

Existing work: N/A

Primary Players: Jasper Whitlock, Carlisle Cullen

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

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**A/N: Thank you so much, Bethaboo, for betaing this. It is very much appreciated. Thank you to TKgel for pre-reading as well. Both of your comments and suggestions were so helpful. **

**This fic features a relationship between two men, and there will be a physical relationship. There are slash lemons in this fic, so if you don't like that sort of thing, you can skip over them. There's a lot of plot outside of their sexual relationship.

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_**Jasper Whitlock, 1875**_

For years, all I have known is war. When I was still a human, I fought for the Confederate Army in Texas. When I was changed, I found out that the wars of mortals were nothing more meaningful than an argument between two men over a woman's affections, and just as pointless. Fighting as a vampire was a completely different kind of war.

I frequently viewed the vampire who changed me, Maria, as a female and Mexican version of Napoleon Bonaparte. Bonaparte was a short man who dared to declare himself the Emperor of France, and then fought to maintain his position of power. Maria had decided that she wanted to rule over all of Mexico, and created armies to ensure that she would. I was changed into a vampire to help her reach her goal.

I was gifted as a military leader. Not only was I adept at strategy when the Confederate Army was weak and disorganized, but I had a natural ability to inspire others to follow me into battle. My father had called me charismatic. When I became a vampire, I learned that it was much more than that.

It took me around five years to become accustomed to being an empath. At first, I believed that the moods swings I felt were due to being a newborn, but as time went by, I realized that I was feeling things that made no sense, and that I was old enough to be less affected. I began to understand that I was able to feel the moods of others, and that if I concentrated hard enough, I could actively change the emotions of anyone I wanted to.

At times, I wondered if vampires could feel any emotions outside of bloodlust, lust, greed, rage, pain, confusion, and hatred. As a human, I had remembered feeling kindness, happiness, and love, but had not felt these emotions since my change.

I had been one of Maria's best fighters for years, and even after my newborn strength waned, I was undefeated in battle. Once I had proven myself, Maria recognized me in front of all others as being strong enough to help her lead. If she was the empress of her territories, I was her general, at least unofficially. While I was clearly one of her favorites, I had to prove myself to her in a true battle.

It was my job to get the newborns ready for battle. This process was much more tedious than I had expected. I had amassed a force of six newborns so far, not counting those that Maria had previously trained. Through trial and error, I learned not to change more than three new vampires at a time. Any more than that, and they were too unstable to keep from killing one another.

I knew the life of a vampire. You fought for blood in every way. During training, the only way to be fed was to win your fights. The entire purpose for the army Maria amassed was to gain control of the territories richest in blood. Everything was cause and effect. You fought to feed, and you fought to live.

It was time to select new humans to be changed. Maria was an excellent judge of character, and had shown me what characteristics to look for in a potential fighter. He must be strong, quick, and intelligent. I could manipulate emotions and calm a temperamental newborn, but I could not make the stupid any smarter. My intelligence had been one of the reasons Maria had chosen me in the first place, after all, and I had served her well.

-x-

It was on a scouting mission that I picked up the scent of a vampire I did not know. I didn't know what their purpose was, but I would be damned if I allowed anyone to destroy the army I had before it was ready. Hoping to intercept the vampire before it could do any damage, I tracked the scent. When I finally caught up to the vampire, I was instantly confused.

I could feel the bloodlust pouring off of him, but there were no humans in the area. We were too far from town for him to be looking for prey, but from his emotions, I could tell that he was doing just that. When he suddenly pounced on a large lynx, I realized with acute clarity that he was actually _feeding_ from the animal. Why the hell would anyone choose to drink from an animal when there were hundreds of humans within a few miles from where we stood?

I stood, lost in my own confusion for too long, and made a fatal error. I allowed him to see me. Desperate to regain the upper hand in the encounter, I immediately walked over to him, as if I had intended to approach him the entire time. He was a handsome man—lean, but obviously muscled. He had a hair not much darker than my own blond, but it was more golden. When I got closer, I realized that his hair was not the only golden feature he possessed—his eyes were a curious golden color as well. If his scent and lack of heartbeat did not confirm that he was, in fact, a vampire, I'm not certain I wouldn't have thought him an exceptionally attractive human.

"What brings you to our territory?" I demanded of the stranger, once I was standing in front of him.

His face registered shock as his eyebrows lifted, and mouth opened slightly. He gathered his wits quickly, and raised his hands in front of his shoulders in a sign of submission. "I did not know this territory was claimed. I mean no harm; I was simply passing through the area. I am headed towards the Aztec and Mayan ruins here in Mexico, and then to Peru, to see those of the Incas. I will be on my way very shortly, and apologize that I have invaded your territory."

I felt his emotions slide through me. His words were completely sincere. He was nervous, which was to be expected, seeing as I had numerous scars across my torso, but he also felt…lust and compassion? The lust I was acquainted with, for any vampire felt lust during and after feeding. I did not expect the compassion I felt from him. It was as if he pitied me, but I could not decide why he would.

"Why did you drink from that lynx?" I inquired before I could contain my curiosity.

"I do not drink from humans, so I drink from animals to sustain myself," he replied.

"Animals? Why would you elect to do that?"

"I was a human once, and as I was opposed to murder as a human, I cannot condone killing humans simply because someone forced this life on me. I will not murder simply because I am a vampire."

"I wasn't even aware that you could survive from the blood of animals. Where do you claim your territory, then?"

"I can stay for a few years in a single location, and I practice medicine. I have lived in Europe, as well as in a few cities in the United States, mainly in New England. Most recently, I was living in Richmond, Virginia, working in the hospital there, before I decided to see some of the sights in South America."

"You work in a hospital? How can you stand to be around that much blood and not consume it?"

"I have been alive for over two hundred years. I have never tasted human blood, and have worked hard at cultivating a resistance to its lure."

"That is incredible," I stated.

The truth was, this man confounded me. His way of life was so different than the one Maria had shown me, and I was fascinated. He had relaxed in my presence once he realized I was curious about his hunting practices. I had a feeling that he was used to having to explain it to others. What fascinated me the most about the stranger was that his emotions were nothing like those I had ever encountered in a vampire. Maria, Nettie, and Lucy were all power-hungry and angry. They acted out of a desire for vengeance, and carried fear and distrust with them at all times. The newborns were confused, hungry, and uncertain. They wanted to fight at all times, and could rarely think of anything beyond blood and sex. I had been in that position myself more than once.

This man was calm. Perhaps it was his ideals that provided his conscience ease, but however he accomplished this feat, I was envious of his contentment. However, as much as I enjoyed his serenity, I could feel his loneliness.

"Do you not have a companion?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. I know of no others who share my beliefs, and would not be able to remain settled in an area without raising suspicion if I had a companion who fed from humans."

"You want someone, though," I concluded. He did not know that I could feel his affirmative answer before I had made the statement, but he provided me with one anyways.

"If there were someone who was willing to try and abstain from drinking humans, I would very much appreciate the company. Two hundred years is a long time to be alone."

"To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of your way of life. It is not anything that I have encountered before. Vampires fight for territory, so they are able to feed more freely."

"Are you certain about that? I have heard of the wars in the South before. Yes, you can successfully obtain territory, but there is always the demand for expansion, and you are always being attacked. No sooner do you have control than you are challenged for it."

"How do you know all of this?" I questioned. There was information even I did not know.

"I am friends with the rulers of our kind, the Volturi. They had to intervene when the region erupted in chaos years ago. It's only a matter of time before they are forced to do so once again. Territory is an addictive commodity; once you have some, you will hunger for more."

I had heard of the Volturi. Maria had told stories of their intervention in the past, and had told us to take certain precautions to avoid their involvement. "They won't come if we're careful."

"Perhaps, but do you really want to spend your eternity fighting? I may not know you, or your name, but I doubt that you would be so curious about my way of life if you were completely satisfied with your own. My name is Carlisle Cullen, by the way."

"Jasper Whitlock," I said, extending my hand for him to shake. He had a point. There was a large part of me that wondered how it would be to live a life like his. Even just to be in the presence of such soothing emotions would be wonderful. That he was exceptionally attractive was merely an added benefit.

"Well, Jasper, I'll ask you this: you fight for territory. Do you currently hold any territory?" Carlisle inquired.

"We do," I confirmed.

"Are you able to drink as much as you desire? Or are you simply trying to expand your territory?"

I stopped to think for a moment. "We are expanding the territory now. While we are gathering our army, we are offered blood only when we are successful in our fights."

"What makes you think that once you take the next city, you will stop there? Is there a chance that you would only expand your army to challenge another? It is an endless cycle of violence, and while people may try to convince you that it is for blood, it is only for power. There is no point in which you can ever have enough. I have seen those with true power over others of our kind, and their existence is not an easy one."

He was so certain, and I had to concede to his logic. He was right; I could not envision a future that did not include more war –more fighting- if I continued on my current path.

"I don't know what else I would do," I whispered. Something about this man stripped me of my normal defenses. For as much as I could feel his emotions, he was able to show me the shadows that marred my existence. It would have been unbearable if he were to simply show me the flaws in my vision, and then walked away. Instead, he remained, and I somehow knew that Carlisle Cullen was a man of patience, as well as an idealist.

"You don't have to know what you would do right now, Jasper. You only have to know what you don't want to do. It took me over 200 years to become a doctor. You don't have to have it figured out in one day."

I looked at him, my confusion drowning me, and I saw in his eyes the moment he realized I needed his guidance. He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes darting back and forth between my own, searching for the answer to a question he would not ask. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. I needed him to be strong, so I sent some courage to him.

"You can come with me. Right now. Someday, I'll see the ruins, but not today. We'll go up north, and I'll teach you how to hunt animals. I'll go to work in a hospital at some point, and you can think about what interests you. You don't have to make any other decision than to come with me."

I had manipulated his emotions, but knew that the idea was completely his own. He wanted to take a chance on me, and even though I had only met him, I knew that I could trust him. Maria had made me an excellent judge of character; my gift had given me the ability to discern when someone was being insincere. Carlisle seemed a man of principle, of honor, and he was not anxious. He simply radiated kindness and sincerity, and I knew I had to follow him.

"I will, but there is something I must do, first. I cannot leave six starved, bloodthirsty newborns near an unsuspecting town. It would be mayhem, and while I wouldn't mind the Volturi putting a stop to the wars again, I don't want to be the one responsible for what they would do. They have to be destroyed." I told him.

Carlisle stood still. "Jasper. It's not their fault. We can reason with them."

"Carlisle, have you ever tried to reason with a newborn? We intentionally find those who are especially volatile."

Carlisle stared straight ahead, and took several long, steady breaths, as if the air could provide him with a solution. "Alright. We'll neutralize the newborns, and then head north. I do not relish the idea of killing anyone, but I have seen enough newborns to know that you are right."

I could feel his reluctance, and I felt my own regret at making this man uncomfortable. There was a purity and goodness to him that I found refreshing, and a long-forgotten memory from my human life pulled at the corners of my mind. Try as I might, I could not remember. I finally decided that he must remind my subconscious of someone I once knew. It struck me that he abstained from killing humans because he did not want to be a murderer, and he just offered to kill other vampires with me.

"No. I can take care of them by myself. I don't want you to have to kill anyone," I offered. Truth be told, as much as I knew that I was capable of taking all six on, it would not be easy.

"I cannot allow you to risk yourself. You may be an adept fighter, but you would be heavily outnumbered, and it would be far easier if I came with you. I only said I didn't like killing, not that I refused to do so."

"Can you fight?" I asked, skeptically. He had an air about him that made me think of a wealthy man whose idea of a sport was hunting or fencing, not boxing or wrestling. When I was hit by a feeling of indignation and annoyance, I wondered if maybe I had underestimated him.

"I should hope so. Just because I don't like to fight doesn't mean I don't know how. I spent decades with the Volturi; it would have been reckless had I not learned to fight."

"You don't seem the type, no offense. I'll believe it when I see it," I stated. No sooner had the words left my mouth than he rushed me. I had expected him to tackle me straight on, so when he moved slightly to the side and kicked my knees from behind, I was caught off balance enough that they buckled beneath me.

He moved back in front of me, and I felt a spike of lust. I was kneeling, my eyes level to his pelvis, and I was suddenly unsure whether the lust I felt was my own or his. I had foolishly thought that he was meek simply because he was a pacifist who drank from animals, but looking up at him, I realized that he had been the one pushing me all along.

He believed his morality was superior, so he worked to convince me that I should adhere to his ideals. I had barely even realized that this was what he was doing. He pushed and argued until he convinced me to leave my way of life completely. Despite the fact that he used no more than logic to do this, I could not help but be impressed by his quietly commanding nature. Now, on my knees in front of him, I could not help but find his natural confidence and dominating personality incredibly attractive. I was used to being the one everyone looked to for answers. I was always the strongest, always the fastest, and always the smartest. To be able to simply relax and let someone else be in charge was a greatly appealing thought.

"Are you willing to concede that I would be an asset to you?" Carlisle asked with a smirk.

Though he had only really succeeded at knocking me to the ground using one move, I wasn't willing to risk any further damage to my ego by sparring with him any further. Instead, I decided to give in and accept that he would be helpful. I nodded my head, and said, "yes, I concede."

He flashed a large smile at me, but it only lasted for a few moments before he turned serious once again and said, "It shouldn't be difficult for the two of us to handle, but I think we should come up with some sort of plan of attack."

"I agree. I think the best way to manage this would be to pick them off individually. We'll come close to the camp, so they can pick up our sent. They'll probably send one to scout, and we'll pick off those who come to investigate. Once we have two down, we can come in hard and fast. That would lead us with two to fight, each. Do you think you can handle that?" I asked, grinning mischievously at Carlisle.

"Oh, I'm most certain I can," he replied, matching my smile with his own. Our plan decided, we spared not time in its execution.

-x-

We executed my plan flawlessly. All six newborns were destroyed, and neither Carlisle nor I were harmed. I had forgotten to take David into consideration; he was another of Maria's trusted men, and I had left him to watch over the newborns and make certain they didn't kill one another in my absence. Despite my uncharacteristic oversight, he was no challenge for Carlisle's skill in combat, and he was thrown into the fire with the other newborns.

I grabbed the bag of my possessions, and we fled the area immediately. While Maria would not deign to come herself for a status report, she would send a scout to monitor my progress, and for anyone to find myself and Carlisle in the area would be disastrous. I could smell that there was rain approaching the area, and I was confident that our scents would be washed away with it. We would simply have seemed to disappear.

We crossed the border out of Mexico, and headed east through Texas to Louisiana. Once we crossed the state line, we changed course until we were headed northeast. We ran for days, not speaking about what happened, though I knew from his emotions that what happened was weighing heavily on his mind. He was fluctuating between feeling regret, resignation, and hope. I may not have known him for very long, but I knew that Carlisle valued life greatly, and though he did what had to be done, he regretted that there was no other choice. I was not accustomed to feeling these emotions from others. The hope Carlisle felt seemed to call me to him, like the scent of freshly baked pie to a child. It offered the promise of something wonderful in the future, and I knew that I would not regret staying close to see its fruition.

While we ran, Carlisle and I took the opportunity to learn more about one another. He told me about growing up in London in the middle of the seventeenth century, and how his father had an obsession with hunting the "unholy" as he called them. He told me about coming across a vampire and being changed, and then about how he tried to kill himself until he came across a herd of deer and realized that he could survive off of animals. He told me of his days with the Volturi in Italy, about becoming a doctor, and about blending in with the humans around him. He told me of his wealth, obtained by years of employment as a doctor, and very few expenses. I was impressed that he had money in banks in almost every state in the nation. He also had multiple houses.

In return, I spoke of my life as a human. I described my childhood, my family. I talked about my experiences in the Confederate Army. We had conversations about slavery, and how neither of us believed it was moral, but that I sided with the South in the war because it was my home. I told him about Maria, Lucy, and Nettie. I spoke of training newborns. I didn't tell him about my empathic abilities. I wasn't certain why, but I was afraid that he would treat me differently if he knew what I was capable of.

It wasn't until we reached Ohio that we stopped running. We had crossed rivers, run through rain storms, and even changed our course a few times in order to make sure Maria could not follow us. We stopped at the edge of a large forest, and I realized that I had not had a meal for days, and I would need to hunt soon, badly.

"I think we should be far enough away by now," Carlisle stated. I merely nodded in response. I could feel a burst of uncertainty and hesitance, and I looked more closely at him and raised an eyebrow. "I need to hunt, and I was hoping that you would be willing to join me. I know it will be difficult to make the adjustment at first, but..."

He was going to continue, but I couldn't stand feeling his uncertainty. "Of course I will join you. When I accepted your offer to get out of the life I was living, I knew that hunting animals would be required. Honestly, I think this will be better for me," I assured him.

He smiled gently at me, and nodded his head. "I think so, too. Follow my lead," he said.

He took off at a run, and I followed quickly after him. He was fast -perhaps faster than I was- and graceful. I watched as he wove through the trees at a blinding speed, and marveled at his focus. I could hear the fluttering heartbeats of smaller animals, and the scents of the forest were almost overwhelming. Still, I trained my eyes on the man in front of me, admiring his fluid movements and quiet power.

Almost instantly, I felt his bloodlust hit him as he caught the scent of some prey. I caught the scent as I neared where he was, and we both veered off towards its origin. As we neared the animals, I began to make out multiple heartbeats. The smell was blood, but lacked the sweetness of a human's. Nonetheless, the strong heartbeats and scent of blood sent a rush of venom into my mouth. I allowed Carlisle's more intense bloodlust to flood through me, and it spurned me on. We reached the clearing where the animals were, and both Carlisle and I stopped dead in our tracks.

There, in front of us, were two large black bears. I looked over at Carlisle, noticed his head cocked to the side slightly, and felt amusement pouring from him. He was trying desperately not to laugh, and I would not have blamed him if he had. "You know, in over two hundred years, I have never before hunted an animal, only to find it in the middle of coitus."

It was strange enough to watch bears having sex when all I wanted to do was drink their blood, but Carlisle was feeling a mixture of bloodlust, amusement, and fascination. I supposed it was the doctor in him that was responsible for the last emotion. I couldn't help it; I burst out in loud laughter. Before he caught himself, Carlisle joined me for a moment.

We realized our mistake almost immediately.

It turned out, bears were somewhat like humans and vampires when it came to sex. They did _ not _like being interrupted. At all. We noticed as the male removed himself from the female, and quickly began to charge us. My laughter died in my throat, and I was inexplicably frightened of the beast. Perhaps it was because my father had always warned us that bears were dangerous, and to stay away from them. In theory, I knew that I was significantly stronger than the bear, but a part of me resisted that knowledge.

Before the bear could attack me, Carlisle stepped in front of it and snapped its neck in a graceful motion. His teeth found the bear's jugular, and he began drinking deeply. I watched, transfixed, as the blood slid down his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing with each swallow. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away, but the satisfaction rolling off of him was intoxicating, despite the lust swirling around us. I heard the female bear roar, and realized that while Carlisle was feeding, I was merely observing. It was time for me to sate my own thirst.

I ran over to the female, laughing as her claws broke, unable to penetrate my skin as she swiped her large paw at me. Mimicing Carlisle's technique, I snapped the bear's neck, and sank my teeth into her neck. The blood was hot and pulsing, and while not nearly as satisfying as a human's, it soothed the burn in my throat. When the large animal was drained dry, I returned to my senses, only to find lust permeating the area.

I turned around and saw Carlisle standing in front of me. His lust from after the hunt was overwhelming, and I knew that I had been feeding his with my own. His eyes, despite having just fed, were as black as obsidian, and a shiver shot down my spine in anticipation. I could hear a low growl rumbling through his chest, and my breathing quickened. He stalked forward, and I could not help but think that I was now his prey. Once he was in front of me, I saw drops of blood scattered along his neck from the bear. I had no desire to stop myself as I leaned forward, and licked his skin clean, tasting the slight toffee of his skin. I groaned in spite of myself. I felt his lust increase, and dropped to my knees in front of him, much like the position I found myself in after he demonstrated his fighting prowess.

I didn't stop to think. Sex had been used as a reward in Maria's army, and as a pastime in the Confederate Army. I was not unacquainted with the sensation of having a man's lips wrapped around my cock, but for the first time, I wanted to be the one on my knees. Carlisle had complete control over my body, even if he had not been aware of it before now. When I unbuttoned his trousers and freed his hard length, there could no longer be any doubt. I ran my tongue from base to tip, and heard him groan loudly.

I wrapped my hand along the base tightly, and circled my tongue around the head. I paused and heard his heavy breaths from above me before wrapping my lips around him and taking him fully into my mouth. His hips thrusted forward, until he hit the back of my throat. Our matching groans of pleasure broke the silence of the forest around us. After a brief moment, he withdrew slightly before slamming back into my mouth. A growl rumbled through me, and I felt his pleasure heighten. I moved my hands along every part of his body I could reach while he continued to fuck my mouth. The ache in my own body was overwhelming, but when I moved my had to stroke myself, he growled sharply, and said, "that is _mine_." I removed my hand immediately.

I cupped his balls with one hand, massaging them gently, and ran the nails of my other hand along his ass and lower back. I pushed more lust and pleasure into him, and was rewarded with a loud groan of my name just as he spilled inside of my mouth, his toffee flavor uncommonly enjoyable. Once he had finished, I released him from my lips, and lightly ran my fingertips along his thigh. He dropped to his knees besides me, and found my lips with his own. His lust was fading, and I felt a slight confusion from him creeping in.

I knew what had caused it, but could not find it in myself to regret my actions. I had fueled the lust that every vampire feels after a hunt, and caused it to reach a level in which he would allow me to pleasure him orally. I could only assume that he had never before had anything like this happen. Despite his confusion, he continued to kiss me, and eventually ran his fingers down along my chest, past my abdomen, and down to where I was hard and aching for release.

I was at a crossroads. I could allow Carlisle to pleasure me by hand, or perhaps even orally, or I could once again subtly manipulate his emotions. As much as I would enjoy the feel of his mouth on me, I wanted to feel completely dominated. I wanted him inside of me as he made me come. I knew I was capable of making this happen, and as much as I wanted him to come to me of his own accord, I was not patient enough to allow it to happen.

I subtly built his lust as he removed my trousers and grasped me firmly in his hand. I purred in pleasure, and released my lust and pleasure into Carlisle. He continued kissing me and stroking me, and I spiraled higher and higher, allowing myself to release my emotions as I felt them. He removed his hand from me, despite my whimper, and pressed his body into my own. I could feel him hard once more against my thigh, and my fingers sought purchase in the muscles of his shoulders.

I had set the bag with my belongings down on the edge of the clearing, and I broke from his kiss long enough to murmur, "I need my bag."

He looked at me curiously, and I merely shrugged my shoulders. "I have Vaseline petroleum jelly that someone obtained for me in Pennsylvania. I've used it as a lubricant before."

I quickly ran to the edge of the clearing, and retrieved the Vaseline from the bag. I shed the remainder of my clothing, and watched as Carlisle did, as well. I carefully kept sending him strong waves of lust to prevent him from having second thoughts. Joining him on the ground once more, I opened the container, and gathered some of the slick substance in my hand before wrapping it around Carlisle's hard length. I began stroking it, coating him liberally, and handed him the jar. He dipped two fingers in, before reaching down towards my entrance and slipping them inside.

I gasped at the intrusion, and I felt his confusion at the noise. "This is the first time I've had anyone do this to me."

His face held a gentle smile, and he said, "I shall have to be gentle, in that case." Despite the kind words, I could feel the almost smug satisfaction over my admission. He liked the fact that he was the first person to have me in this way.

I smiled in return, and brought my lips back to his. His tongue slid languidly against my own, and his fingers matched their pace. They were unhurried and gentle, as he prepared me for him. As he stroked inside of me, I suddenly understood how the men I'd been with had climaxed from the experience. Pleasure shot through me in waves, and I moaned at the feeling. We had shifted so that I was lying down and Carlisle was hovering over me, and then he lifted my legs up, and hooked them around his shoulders. My hips were lifted, and he pressed himself against me.

With another spike of lust, he entered me in several strokes until he was fully inside of me. He then stopped moving, likely to allow me to adjust to the feeling. He moaned in pleasure, which soothed the dull ache inside of me. It was full, almost uncomfortably so, but I felt the genuine pleasure coursing through him, and it fed my own enjoyment. As he began to move, I slipped my legs back down to the ground, bent at the knee, so I could meet his thrusts. The change in the position caused him to move against a particularly sensitive part inside of me, and I cried out Carlisle's name in pleasure.

He correctly interpreted my cry, and began to drive into me harder and faster than he had been. It felt incredible, and I moved my pelvis in time with his. My dick was aching for release, and while him moving inside of me felt amazing, I needed more. More friction. More sensation. Simply more. I started bringing my hand to stroke myself, but Carlisle once more growled sharply to prevent me from doing so.

He reached beside him, and when his fingers once again closed around my hard length, they were covered in Vaseline. The slickness of his hand as it glided against my skin felt incredible. He grasped me tightly, and between the way he was moving inside of me and his hand twisting around my head, I had never felt as much pleasure before. It was intoxicating.

He picked up the pace, and I could tell that at this point, the pleasure I could not contain was quickly sending Carlisle into his own release. My orgasm hit me, and I threw my head back and cried his name in rapture once again. I felt a sharp pain shooting through me where my shoulder and neck met, and I realized that Carlisle had bitten me as his orgasm ripped through him. The pain simply heightened the pleasure I felt, and I felt a strange satisfaction that he had branded my skin.

He collapsed on top of me, and withdrew from me. We were panting against each other, and his lips sought mine in gentle kisses. I could not remember a time when I had felt so satisfied, so content, and I was so very grateful that I happened upon Carlisle hunting that lynx. His own emotions were calm and satisfied; though the confusion he had felt earlier was still present, it was not nearly as noticeable.

-x-

After our hunt, Carlisle brought me to a small cabin he owned close by in Columbus. He had intended to come here after touring the ruins of Mexico and Peru, but now that he was postponing the trip, we decided to settle here for a while. The cabin was secluded enough that we were unlikely to be disturbed by humans, and close enough to town for Carlisle to work in the local hospital. We had decided that I would be secluded from the humans for a couple of months, until I had become accustomed to hunting game instead of people.

During the hours while I was home and Carlisle was at the hospital, I read. While I read some novels, most of my reading material focused on philosophy. I read histories of war, and discourses on the nature of fighting. As someone who had lived from battle to battle from my human days through my vampiric life, reading about the history and damage war has wrought was fascinating. It took me decades to realize how depraved my life had been. With a new and strong sense of morality in place, I looked to make an impact on the world.

I became voracious for knowledge, and while Carlisle made his impact on society as a physician and healer, I began to write. I wrote articles for several local newspapers about any current unrest in the world. As my name became more recognizable, I was published in more notable publications. If my words could prevent a fight, or even make someone who believed in war think twice about it, I considered myself successful. It was a way for me to transform my own experience with the darkness of war into something to better the world. Eventually, I began to use pseudonyms to protect my identity, but continued my work as a journalist specializing in war.

As for Carlisle and myself, the more time I spent in his presence, the more I fell in love with him. He was kind, exceptionally intelligent, and had a dry sense of humor that was rarely shown, but was wickedly funny. He was simply beautiful, with a generous and giving heart, though he was able to make difficult decisions when necessary. Physically, he was still one of the most attractive men I had ever seen. Even more than that, we created an interesting counterpoint to the other. He was gentle and compassionate, while I was fierce and demanding.

In bed, these roles were reversed. I enjoyed little more than allowing his dominant side to temper my own passion. It was more than that, though, it was an expression of our love. As I had adopted a stronger moral code, I realized how wrong it was to have manipulated Carlisle's emotions. He should have given me his body because he felt so compelled, and not because I had increased his lust. It was a betrayal of his trust, even if he was unaware of it.

It had taken me over a month to tell him that I was an empath, and by that time, he had begun to feel genuine lust and affection for me. I had stopped manipulating his emotions, but I could not shake the thought that it was too late. When I admitted what I had done, Carlisle was mercifully understanding. While I could feel his disappointment in me, it in no way overshadowed his love.

"Jasper, we are not perfect people, nor should we expect the other to be. I care about you, no matter what your flaws may be, and I trust you. I appreciate your honesty, and am sorry that you felt you ever had to do this. Maybe it would have taken longer to develop a sexual relationship organically, but I cannot deny that I was attracted to you from the beginning, and have faith that it would have happened without your intervention."

Carlisle was right. We weren't perfect people. He was somewhat judgemental and superior, and I was brash and somewhat manipulative. We fought as all couples do, but we always found a way to reach an understanding.

War was what I had known, but this was no longer true. I knew love. I knew desire. I knew peace. I knew what it meant to try and make a difference in the world. Life was not an endless cycle of violence and death—it was what we made of it.


End file.
